Are you owing someone money? If yes, do you know it is not criminal offence and the person you owe can’t get you arrested by the police or locked up?
While it has become the norm for many lenders to engage security agencies in cases of debt recovery, doing so is an illegal act under the provisions of the law. And it continues to thrive because people don’t know their rights or law enforcement agents find it easy to break the law and act beyond their jurisdiction.
Being a debtor is not a crime in any part of Nigeria and failure to pay debt after it has been demanded is also not an offence as long as it can be proved that there is no intention to defraud or commit an offence .and according to the provisions of Section 2 of the Criminal Code Act and Section 4 Of the Penal Code Act, no security agency; police, DSS, EFCC or Army, has the powers to intervene, arrest or detain a debtor or order repayment. You can only recover a debt legally by engaging a lawyer.
Acts that fall under crime are expressly spelt out under the Criminal Code Act and Penal Code Act and laws of various states and the punishment for each of them is expressly stated. And misdemeanours like breach of contract or failure to pay debt are not seen as criminal offences as no statute defines them as criminal acts nor define penalties for them.
Consequently, it is a breach of a person’s fundamental human right to arrest, charge or prosecute someone for an act or omission that does not constitute a crime according to Section 36(12) of the 1999 Nigerian Constitution (as amended).
But while it is not a criminal matter, there are penalties for breach of agreement including breach of promise to refund debt. Though acts of breach do not constitute criminal offences, they are classified as civil wrongs; that is, unlawful acts or omissions personally done against an individual.
They are actionable through lawsuits and where successful, damages (monetary compensation) could be awarded against the defaulter. However, some criminal offences can be civil in nature; cases like stealing and theft are a criminal offence that can be brought as a lawsuit under the provision for ‘conversion.’
If you are arrested for a civil wrong, the first step is to get bail. To do this, you have to make an application to the Police in the form of a letter. And after release, it is time to seek recourse in law for the unlawful arrest by making a complaint to the Police Complaint Response Unit.
Another viable option would be to engage the services of a lawyer to file an action in court for breach of fundamental human rights.
